Chapter 6: Freedom

"Damn it!"

*Thump!*

"Damn it!"

*Thump!*

"Damn it!"

*Thump! Thump!*

In the pitch-black cement room, accompanied by a series of low growls and impacts, Zhang Yu finally endured the intense pain wracking his body and completed the second repetition of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering.

With a *thud*, he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Feeling his hands and feet still trembling slightly, Zhang Yu felt that his body had reached its absolute limit. Every inch of his flesh and blood refused to move.

But even in this state, that chilling sensation and the voice in his mind returned once more.

"Please adhere to the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, do not deliberately slack off or delay, 10."

"Damn it!" Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, "I'm already at my limit!"

"I really can't train anymore!"

"I have classes tomorrow!"

But no matter what he said or how he explained, the countdown continued without pause or hesitation.

Seeing the countdown ticking towards the end, Zhang Yu could only curse and stumble to his feet once more to continue training.

Under normal circumstances, most people find it difficult to push themselves to their true limits when training alone.

Only under the supervision and strict demands of a master, teacher, or coach can one truly reach their limits again and again.

It was the same for Zhang Yu. If he were alone, he would probably have stopped after one or two repetitions of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering, too exhausted to move, and simply rested.

But the power of the ritual was like a demonic instructor, constantly watching him and threatening him with death, urging him to continue training without the slightest bit of slacking.

Third repetition...

Fourth repetition...

Fifth repetition...

All the way to the tenth repetition!

Under the repeated threats of the ritual's power, Zhang Yu completed the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering a full ten times!

During this time, the flesh and blood all over his body went from tearing pain, to stinging pain, and finally to a gradual numbness. He even felt like his hands and feet were about to disappear.

At the same time, every trace of spiritual energy within him was forced out, constantly pouring into those damaged muscles and flesh.

After completing these ten repetitions, Zhang Yu felt as if both his flesh and blood and his spiritual energy were completely drained, like a rag that had been wrung out thousands of times, unable to produce even a single drop.

At this moment, Zhang Yu just wanted to lie on the ground, unwilling to move even an inch.

To his relief, the voice that had been urging him on like a harbinger of death did not sound again this time, seemingly believing that he had truly done his best and reached his limit.

And in the process of just training, Zhang Yu had also slightly figured out the characteristics of this ritual power.

"This thing is a bit like an artificial simpleton. It doesn't have real intelligence, it just operates according to certain rules..."

Zhang Yu had seen similar things in the movies, television shows, and news in Kunxu.

Those powerful magical treasures contained artifact spirits, and these artifact spirits were like artificial intelligence, with a certain level of intelligence to handle various problems. Some powerful artifact spirits even possessed intelligence comparable to humans.

At this moment, after confirming that the ritual power would not force him to train any further, Zhang Yu was finally able to relax his mind and feel the effects of the upgraded Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering.

That's right, after Zhang Yu completed the tenth repetition of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering, he could feel that this martial art had been upgraded.

In that instant, his understanding and comprehension of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering became deeper.

Originally, many details that he had not noticed or did not fully understand suddenly appeared in his mind like a flash of lightning.

And on the Feather Script, the original 'Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering Level 1 (0/10)' had changed to 'Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering Level 2 (0/20)'.

"Just 20 more repetitions to raise the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering to Level 3?"

"If I keep training like this, wouldn't I be able to push the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering to Level 10 soon?"

Zhang Yu knew that in the Qi Refining realm, the highest level of martial arts and techniques could only be cultivated to Level 10.

"By then, even if I don't use needles or take medicine, the effect of my training will be no less than Bai Zhenzhen and the others... No, it might even far exceed them."

"At this rate, it's not impossible to raise my physical strength to the top of the grade in the future."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yu felt invigorated, and even the pain all over his body seemed to have lessened.

"Terrifying, my potential is too terrifying. Once it's been unleashed by the Dark Divinity, I'll simply soar into the heavens."

Filled with beautiful visions of the future, Zhang Yu, whose physical body had been pushed to its limit, gradually fell into sleepiness and unconsciously drifted off.

He slept until five o'clock the next morning, when Zhang Yu woke up instinctively, as if he had woken up at five o'clock countless times in the past.

But today, his limbs were sore and weak, and even opening his eyes felt incredibly difficult.

At this moment, although Zhang Yu had already woken up, he didn't want to get out of bed at all. He just wanted to sleep for a while longer, even if it was on the concrete floor of this unfinished building.

"Five minutes... Just five more minutes..."

But just as Zhang Yu wanted to stay in bed, a chilling voice echoed in his heart once again.

"Please adhere to the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, do not deliberately slack off or delay, 10."

"Damn it!" Zhang Yu opened his eyes wide and listened carefully to the voice that continued to sound. After repeatedly confirming that this was not a hallucination, he could only sit up, muttering curses.

At this moment, Zhang Yu suddenly realized that things might be more serious than he had originally thought.

"In the future, as long as it's related to studying, cultivation, going to college, or working – that is, anything related to learning, cultivating, working, or earning money to fulfill my second wish... I can't slack off even a little bit?"

"24-hour supervision, huh."

With a body full of fatigue and exhaustion, he could only hurriedly return to his rental apartment.

Feeling the greasy sweat all over his body, he quickly paid the 323.4 water bill and took a five-minute shower before rushing to the bus stop.

Looking up at the display screen on the platform, Zhang Yu thought, "The next bus arrives in ten minutes?"

Finding a pole to lean on, he thought to himself, "Rest for a while. It's a good thing that broken thing didn't tell me to seize this time to practice."

As soon as he thought of this, Zhang Yu regretted it.

Because a chilling sensation surged from his heart, and that nightmare-like voice sounded again.

"Please adhere to the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, do not deliberately slack off or delay, 10."

"I, he..." Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, "Is this thing constantly monitoring my thoughts? As long as I think of a way to work hard and don't do it... It's going to kill me?"

So, amidst a series of countdowns, Zhang Yu could only endure his exhaustion and begin the practice of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering in the astonished, puzzled, admiring, or indifferent gazes of the people around him.

*Hah!*

*Thump!*

With the final punch, Zhang Yu, covered in sweat, once again collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Looking at the bus approaching in the distance, he was overjoyed: "It's finally here."

And today, Zhang Yu even managed to find a seat on the bus, which made him even happier.

"Finally, I can rest properly."

"I'll close my eyes for a little while. The bus can't force me to practice, right? Unless it's breathing exercises..."

As soon as he thought of the words "breathing exercises," Zhang Yu felt uneasy.

"Please adhere to the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, do not deliberately slack off or delay, 10."

Sure enough, the countdown sounded again, forcing Zhang Yu to operate the Basic Breathing Technique while riding the bus.

Doing breathing exercises while riding the bus sounded simple and cost-effective, but even the old Zhang Yu had given up after trying it a few times.

One reason was that the environment on the bus was too noisy, making it difficult to concentrate.

The second, and most important, reason was that Zhang Yu, who woke up early every day, was too tired.

Having finally found a seat, he just wanted to doze off for a little while and simply couldn't muster the energy to do breathing exercises.

The few times he had tried, he would often start to feel drowsy and want to sleep after a short while.

But at this moment, under the coercion of the ritual power, Zhang Yu could only try his best to do breathing exercises, fighting off sleepiness and striving to absorb the spiritual energy of the world with each breath.

At this time, he also thoroughly understood that things were much more serious than he had previously thought.

"This isn't just ordinary 24-hour supervision, this is constantly pushing me to my death."

"As long as this thing is on me, then all laziness, goofing off, entertainment, enjoyment, and relaxation... will be gone from me."

"There will be no more weekends, no more holidays. My life will have no joy. Every minute and every second will be dedicated to learning, to cultivation, to work... until the second wish is fulfilled."

Zhang Yu unconsciously hugged his head: "I will become a complete learning machine, a workhorse, with no free time at all. I'll be a perpetual overachiever... until I'm completely crushed by this pressure!"

He lamented in his heart: "If this is what my life will be like, then what's the point of achieving immortality and living for hundreds of years? Living for so many more years is just enduring so much more suffering."

"Heavens!"

The surrounding passengers all looked at Zhang Yu, who was holding his head in pain.

But Zhang Yu couldn't care about any of that anymore. As the countdown of "Please adhere to the ritual agreement..." sounded again, he had already straightened up, suppressing the sorrow in his heart and continuing to operate the Basic Breathing Technique.

But at the same time, a determination gradually welled up in Zhang Yu's heart.

In fact, until this morning, Zhang Yu, who had come to this world, had been somewhat confused.

Although he wanted to get into a famous university, join a major sect, and cultivate immortality, it was hard to say how much of it was the influence of the original owner's memories, a choice he made following the inertia of life.

Until this moment, Zhang Yu finally had a goal, something he was determined to accomplish, no matter how many setbacks he faced.

That was to become strong enough, strong enough to completely remove this ritual power that was forcing him.

Zhang Yu wanted... freedom!